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“A great revolution in just one single individual will help achieve a change in the destiny of a society and, further, will enable a change in the destiny of humankind.”

The message I hear in that quote is that in order to change the destiny of our schools, our students and society as a whole, we must begin by seeing ourselves as the catalyst for that change. By embracing the notion that a “great revolution” in just one individual can help the rest of us achieve the change we need or want to see is a powerful motivator. Think about it this way. The ability to inspire one teacher to try something new has the ability and potential to inspire other colleagues to do the same. Creating an environment where people are willing to take risks with their practice requires that as leaders, we need to support these individuals through that process, even when things don’t always go as planned, and we all know that things don’t always go as planned.

But more importantly, I am inspired by this quote in the potential it has for our students. They truly are the revolution that may be needed to solve some of the greatest problems facing modern society. As leaders in schools, it is my humble opinion that the responsibility to provide the necessary ingredients needed for these current students to blossom into the future leaders and creative thinkers of the future begins with our ability to see the change in ourselves and model that change for others around us.

Photo Credit: ecstaticist

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Mr. Morse couldn’t be here today so he asked me to step in on his behalf, and welcome all of you to the start of the 176th year here on the Hilltop. 176 years. Have you ever stopped for a moment and thought about what it means to be a part of a place that has been around that long? Go back in time with me for a moment and think about how much our world has changed in that time. Consider for a moment, that back then, in the early to mid-1800’s there were a group of creative thinkers, some would call them rebels, who were pushing the envelope by rebelling against what they saw as the current situation and what they were trying to be different from. They were call the Transcendentalists and another way to look at them is to see them as a generation of people who were struggling to define spirituality and religion (our words, not necessarily theirs) in a way that took into account the new understandings that the time they were living in made available to them. This movement brought us some of the most important and influential thinkers of their time. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. And while this moment in history was unfolding, in real time, Worcester Academy students were taking classes and learning from one another and their teachers. It was all happening right around them.

Or think about the fact that just shortly after the civil war, Worcester Academy students were watching the Headmaster at the time, Dr. Daniel Abercrombie, slowly expand the campus to include the buildings we use today. Kingsley, Walker Hall, The Megaron. But more importantly, they were experiencing a curriculum, which he brought to the school from Europe and was considered progressive and innovative for its time. It included the study of science and mathematics. And again, while that moment was unfolding, in real time, Worcester Academy students were gathering around the quad, much like you do today. Engaging in conversations, making steadfast friendships, competing in athletic events and performing on stage. They may not have realized at that time, in fact, I am pretty sure that like most teenagers, many of them were completely unaware that they would become the leaders of tomorrow. These same students, very much like all of you, would go on to become the founder and first editor of National Geographic magazine. Or create companies that would dominate industry such as Merrill Lynch. They would help break important social and racial barriers and go on to compose music that will forever be woven into the fabric of the American experience.

But back then, they were just ordinary students, being told to tuck in their shirts and avoid being late to class, and whether they realized it or not, they were living during extraordinary times; the industrial revolution, the Great Depression, World Wars I and II.

And in my opinion how lucky they were.

Can you imagine what it would be like to be a student at Worcester Academy when amazing and profound things were happening all around you? Just think for a moment what it might be like…

Climate change, world conflict and war, global economic challenges, the first African American President of the United States, the first Latina to be appointed to the Supreme Court and here at Worcester Academy, the first latina to be elected Head Monitor. Imagine how amazing it would be to live during a point in time when we would see advances in technology, medicine and engineering bringing us iPhones, hybrid fuel efficient cars and advances in the detection and treatment of breast cancer.

It would be pretty amazing.

So here we are, at the start of a new school year. And while this moment begins to unfold, in real time, those of us fortunate enough to be a part of Worcester Academy once again have a unique opportunity. It is our privilege to be living during a moment in time that I strongly feel, and many others believe, will be looked at as historic, some might even say revolutionary. And while others might disagree with that statement, what matters and what makes living during historic times so amazing is that they stand out. They represent moments that future generations will recall and for better or worse, will define those of us who lived during them. Students looking back at this time 100 years from now, in the year 2109, sitting where you are sitting today, will either look back and remember us as having collectively risen to meet these historic challenges or having missed the opportunity to seize the moment and truly be the change we wish to see in the world. I for one, firmly believe in all of you. Every adult who is a part of Worcester Academy believes in you, all we ask, is that you believe in yourselves.

Have a historic year. Thank you.

(Presented at the all school assembly 9/3/2009)

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So today involved a variety of Sunday morning rituals one of which included attending a 10 am class with one of my favorite instructors, Shawn Shaw of Metrowest Yoga in Westborough, MA. Shawn is one of those teachers who infuses into her teaching a way for you to connect your practice to your daily life. Today she made a statement during class that stuck with me. She said “Those of you who are paying attention to the person in front of you or behind you and trying to make their practice your own, need to remember that your neighbor has his or her own story to tell.” Think about it. The person next to me has a story inside them that only they know. It might be an injury, a tramatic experience, a personal goal, triumph or victory. But it is their story to tell. For those of us who study and practice yoga, it would be misguided of us to try and make their yoga practice our own. So, the take away lesson is that for students of yoga, you should make your yoga practice your OWN practice.

Now think about this for a moment. How often to you hear people in schools say “Did you hear what they are doing over at Xyz Academy?” or “Such&Such Day School has this new program in _________, we should really look into that for our school.” It’s common. It happens all the time. How quick was your school to set up a Facebook or Twitter because the school across town did it? Or rush into a new 1 to 1 laptop, service learning or multicultural education initative because they had heard about some other school having achieved some success because of their journey in a new and exciting direction? So let’s stop there and let me take you back to my yoga metaphor. Vinyasa yoga is a breathing exercise, which incorporates a style of breathing called Ujjayi breathing, and requires that you take deep and long breathes in and out of your noise, making an ocean sound while you inhale and exhale. It is said that Ujjayi breathing is a balancing and calming breath, and having experienced it, I for one can attest to its calming power.

In looking back at my last post, I am sure it may have appeared that I was on mission to wake schools up. A rant so to speak to bring attention to the need for schools to stop talking and start doing. And I was and still am. So the point of this Sunday afternoon’s post/reflection? Schools should consider taking a deep, long, cleansing and calming institutional breath, and remember that they cannot and should not try to replicate their “neighbor’s” story. They should instead, realize that they have their own journey to make and that the end result will be an amazing story of their own, unique, personal and very much rooted in who they are.

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Last week I attended the “Meaningful Faculty Evaluation” workshop given by ISM in Philadelphia. For those of you who are not familiar with MFE, it is a process of engaging faculty through conversations and personal growth that is intended to strip away the focus and obsession with weaknesses and focus on what teachers are good at. Now I know that many of my administrator colleagues are thinking “Wait a minute, what about those teachers that need to improve on X, Y or Z?” It’s all there, trust me. And if you haven’t had a chance to check it out, you should.

But the purpose of this post is not to focus on MFE as an evaluation tool but rather on one small, very simple exercise that lives within it that caught my attention. It was, in fact a very zen like exercise when I stepped back for a moment and reflected on its purpose and outcome.

At the very start of the MFE process, teachers are asked the following question “Other than making a living, why this, now with my life?”

Go ahead. Take a minute and re-read it.

Thought provoking to say the least and applicable to not only those of us in the field of education but just about everyone out there who has seemingly struggled with the question of why am I doing this work? It can be at times a challenging, thankless, exhausting exercise to wake up every morning and ask yourself that question. And you should. We all should. It is simply not enough to be working in education as a means to an income or 3 month summer vacation.

My last post focused on how I personally reflect on the year that has just ended, and it seems only fitting that I would follow that up with a post that looks upon the start of this new “year” by sharing my own personal mission statement with all of you.

“Antonio Viva exists to provide mindful leadership, raise a thoughtful, caring and successful son and reshape the world, one creative thinker at a time.”

Consider sharing/writing your own!

Photo Credit: ambergris

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Last spring I worked on a weekly series called “Monday Morning Meditation” where I would try to connect some thoughts, ideas and perspectives about leadership to the teachings of Zen. It is my hope that by devoting some time to the complex and very human interactions associated with leadership, we can find new ways to approach our work as leaders and help us on our journey towards reshaping our schools.

On Balance

Gaoan Said:

“What students should keep in mind are balance and truthfulness; even though thwarted in a hundred ways they will remain serene and untroubled. But if they have any inclination or bias, and spend the days and nights in petty striving with gain as their aim, I fear their enormous bodies will not fit between the heaven and earth.”

I am sure that many of us in leadership positions have found ourselves looking for that perfect balance. In our professional and personal lives, in our ability to deal with the stresses of work and home. It never seems to be fully possible to find that perfect balance because those of us who work in schools are keenly aware that the nature ebb and flow of the school year comes with moments of rest and reflection while at other times, the pace feels frenetic and out of control. What I find interesting in this passage is the notion that balance and truthfulness are linked together. Our inability to find balance often comes from our unwillingness to be truthful with ourselves. Why do we prioritize certain things over others? What drives us to make the decisions we make? What frames our way of thinking about our work and our relationships with our colleagues and direct reports? Remaining free of bias, keeping an open mind and perspective are often challenges for those of us in leadership positions. We can quickly become thwarted by a variety of factors that can get in the way, for example making decisions based on seeking personal gain.

Finding that perfect balance in life may seem a lofty aspiration but if we take the time to recognize that our approach to our work, our colleagues and our personal lives can serve as the vehicle towards finding more balance in our life, the challenge may not seem as difficult as it once did.

Namaste

Photo Credit: pshutterbug

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Occasionally I find time to browse through some of my favorite websites looking for some good reading or an interesting resource I have yet to encounter. As I browsed through the NAIS website, I came across a letter written by John R. C. Sumner, who in 1951 was a teacher of modern languages at the Webb School of California (Claremont). That winter, he gave a talk in the school chapel which was entitled “Of Course the Future is Uncertain.” In it he describes how at the time, the uncertainty of what the future held for this chapel full of boys (Webb has since continued single-sex education in a co-educational setting by adding a girls school in 1981 ) was not an excuse for inaction.

Sumner goes on to add that “I ask you to consider the unchallengeable fact that never, in the history of the world, has anybody known what was going to happen. Whatever may be new about your situation, your inability to foretell the future is certainly not it.” Seems fitting some 57 years later does it not? For my generation we have never been in a time when the uncertainty of it all seemed more real to us. The daily barrage of news and media reports of falling investments, unemployment, falling house prices seems almost to grand to take in at once. A truly perfect storm. Sumner continues;

There seems to be a recent doctrine, which is apparently gaining more and more adherents, that man is entitled to an easy life, to get what he wants, to have things go his way, and that if life is not easy, he doesn’t get everything that he wants, if things do not always go his way, then he is underprivileged, discriminated against, and unfairly treated, and has just grounds for complaint against fate, or against the social system, or against somebody or something. I know of no basis in philosophy or religion for any such doctrine, and I can think of no better way for you young gentlemen to insure your future unhappiness than to adopt it.

Powerful rhetoric at time when many would argue we have in all likelihood seen the end of a similar era of “I am entitled to my fair share!” and the reality of economic uncertainty in the world, political turmoil and unrest as seen in Mumbai and a country on the cusp of a new era of leadership, taking a step back to reflect on that which we are thankful for may be in good form. Many colleges and universities healthy from years of large and fat endowments are now finding that they must re-examine what is central to their mission and re-evaluate the unnecessary excess that is in their operating budgets. Secondary independent schools with similar tuition driven, endowment supported operating budgets must also rethink where their priorities are in terms of mission and program. Public schools are facing decreasing budgets due to shrinking town, city and state wide budgets. Regardless of what field you are in, things feel a bit uneasy and it is natural and human to focus on that feeling.

And yet, in the midst of all of this, I remain optimistic. We are entering a point in history where the future rests squarely on our shoulders and in our hands. I hold firm to the idea and concept that education serves to not only teach us what we need to succeed in college, or how to go out into the world and become successful, but also about life itself. Never before has it been more important to take a moment to reflect on the amazing opportunities we have to inspire and engage one another as colleagues, and more importantly engage our students. We come together daily with the hopes that our graduates will go out into the world ready, eager and prepared to tackle the complex and difficult interconnect global problems and issues facing us in the future. If those of us who work in schools believe we can put an end to terrorism and war, or if we want to solve global warming, and preserve and protect our beautiful and amazing planet— if we aspire to help those struggling with poverty, hunger, fear, hate and disease we must believe in the power of education. If we are to tackle the great challenges and obstacles facing our 21st century world, then all of us need to be critical thinkers and creative problem solvers, grounded in many disciplines. The there is no doubt in my mind that education holds the answer to many of these seemingly unanswerable challenges.

A final word from Mr. Sumner “The future is uncertain. It always has been, and always will be. You will meet with some hardships and disappointments. No one ever lived who did not. But uncertainty, disappointment, and hardships crush only the weak person; they make the strong person stronger.”

Photo Credit: carf

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At the beginning of this summer I picked up a copy of “The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need” by one of my favorite authors Dan Pink. I had the opportunity to see Dan speak at the 2008 NAIS Annual Conference in New York in February and during his keynote, he referenced a new book he was working on that would be coming out in the spring, a career guide of sorts, done in the style of a manga. Sounded interesting. It was originally part of my “summer” reading list and even though the book takes no more than an hour to read, I didn’t get to it until last week.

What appeals to me the most about the message in “Johnny Bunko” is the potential it has to help young people re-examine their priorities. As someone who works with young people daily, the opportunity to engage the next generation of leaders, creators, inventors and creative thinkers is a profound responsibility that few in this world have and the lessons that Johnny learns throughout the book are valuable to students as they embark on their own journeys. More importantly, Dan makes it clear that the advice adults give young people about life doesn’t necessarily apply anymore. As he said during his keynote, there was a time when falling back on a career as an attorney or an accountant could be seen as safe career choices. People are always going to need a lawyer or account right? Wrong, in the age of 123divorceme.com and TurboTax the advice our parents gave us about accounting and law and the rules around careers in general have changed.

A brief synopsis. Johnny Bunko is a young man who did what everybody around him told him too. Unfortunately, the advice he received from his parents, teachers, mentors and counselors didn’t really serve him very well and now Johnny finds himself “stuck at a dead-end job,  and he’s begun to suspect that what he thought he knew is just plain wrong.”  When seemingly out of no where, Johnny meets Diana, the most un-traditional and odd career advisor you would ever meet. Diana reveals/shares six essential lessons for thriving and succeeding in the professional world and in turn, reshapes Johnny’s view about his place in life and the method he uses to make the important decisions about his career path.  The lessons in the book are simple and while Pink does not make any direct references to it, the book feels like it has a zen flavor to it. From the sushi restaurant where Johnny gets the magic chopsticks, to the way Diana meditates, to this reader, the connections became evident as I read through the story.

1. There is no plan: No matter how hard you try and no matter what anyone tells you, there is no way to predefine or predetermine your path in life. It is impossible and impractical to map out your life. The world is in a constant state of change an if we try to anticipate that change we lose sight of the possibilities that the change itself can bring. Be present in the moment and recognize that each experience presents a unique opportunity, like the Dad who becomes a blogger.
2. Think strengths, not weaknesses: Capitalize on what you are good at and steer away from areas that present challenges for you. Here Diana gets very zen on Johnny by introducing the concept of “flow” by telling Johnny he should focus on activities that create flow in him. “Flow is the mental state of operation in which the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing, characterized by a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity.” Like is said, very zen.
3. It’s not about you: Focus outward in your work and NOT inward. Work toward bringing the best out in others, remember that your work is not about you. Your energy and effort should go toward the greater good not shameless self promotion.
4. Persistence trumps talent: Compound interest is the most powerful force in the universe. According to Albert Einstein who makes a cameo in the book and helps Diana explain that the people who achieve the most are “often the ones who stick with it when others don’t.” Those of us in schools have most definitely found ourselves using this logic with students who are struggling or not achieving at a level they wish they were.
5. Make excellent mistakes: Every time you make a mistake, it serves as an opportunity to learn and do something better. This doesn’t mean simple, ordinary kind of mistakes, but big, aspirational kind of mistakes. I have personally found myself the benefactor of this advice. I would rather have tried to do something big, something significant and failed than not tried to do anything at all.
6. Leave an imprint: The final piece of advice seems to connect beautifully with my own mantra. Reshape the world, one creative idea at a time. Did you make a difference? Did you contribute to the greater good? I recall a conversation I had with a student early in my teaching career, he asked me why I would go into teaching when I could have done just about anything else. I told him I wanted to leave my thumbprint on his brain. Leave your thumbprint or as Diana suggests leave your imprint on this world.

“The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need” is simple, creative and provides a profound message for young people. It is a career guide that will not only serve those newly entering the work force but those who may find themselves, like Johnny a bit disillusioned by the advice they received back in the day. I recommend getting a copy.

Johnny Bunko trailer from DHP on Vimeo.

Photo Credit: cx1uk

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In managing affairs one must weigh the heavy and the light; when speaking out one must first think and reflect. Strive to accord with the middle way, do now allow bias. Hasty and careless actions seldom bring success. Even if you can get done in this way, after all you cannot complete anything totally.

When I was in the community of students, I fully witnessed benefit and harm. Only those of virtue moved people by the magnanimity. I hope those in the future who have willpower will practice this carefully. Only this will be of sublime benefit.

Lingyuan used to say, “Usually when people always dwell in inner reflection, they are able to clearly understand much, but when they get involved in things, running outside, then they oppose integration and lose the body of reality.”

If you really want to think of inheriting the responsibility of enlightened teachers, I direct you to future descendants to always examine and criticize yourselves.

How often do we take the time to do this? Reflect, examine and criticize ourselves? It seems that for many of us in leadership roles, the opposite holds true. Performance evaluations, grading student work, teacher evaluations. The opportunity to truly grow as a leader requires of us a commitment to spend time reflecting on our practice. Parker Palmer speaks of this extensively in his book, “The Courage to Teach” and yet how easy does it come to us? Understanding that our roles as leaders require the active responsibility of self reflection will only make us better in the art of leading. This year, as part of my teaching, I was required to go through a modified faculty evaluation process. The process asked me to spend time reflecting on my craft as a teacher, which, by default required that I reflect on my role as a leader as well. The process was refreshing and valuable to me. As are these Monday Morning Meditation posts. Enjoy your week!

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